Evil in the Woods
by The Lost Hetalian
Summary: Alfred and Matthew are left abandoned and hungry in the woods by one of their fathers. Based in a fairy tale I'd rather not say the name of for reasons. Human AU. FACE family. 2P!England. Rated M for gore PS: I dislike the way my imagination works...
1. Abandoned and Hungry

The sun was beginning to cast red-rays across the sky as its final few hours crept near, making the sky turn into a huge, raging flame above the forest. There was a small cottage in the forest, surrounded by dust and failed crops. Inside the house was a poor, small family of four.

The family was originally only half of what it was now, but sadly the wife of Francis had died when giving birth to her son, Matthew. Francis had found another broken family- Arthur and his child, Alfred- and they moved in, hoping that the combined families would be able to work more efficiently and make money to feed the poor family, but sadly, that wasn't the case. The two children that lived there, Matthew and Alfred, were more playful than helpful, and instead of helping to make food, they made it disappear- either by trampling it in their play, or by eating it.

Arthur was beginning to despise the brats. His eye would twitch and his fists would ball-up every time he saw them play, even if they weren't being boisterous. Something _always_ happened when they played. A broken milk glass they had to re-buy, loose chickens that took a day to catch, a hole in the wall they had to re-patch… It angered him to no end.

Francis was a bit angry as well, but he wasn't quite as desperate about them as Arthur was. He loved his Matthew, and he didn't want anything to happen to him. He knew as a fact that one day he would mature and the play and ruin would end. Alfred as well, though probably_ much_ later in life… He was a bit more loving to the children, and didn't mind it when they snuck extra morsels of food, as he wished them to live long and healthily.

The boys were chasing each other through the house one day. Matthew was being chased by Alfred, laughing maniacally. Francis was busy outside, feeding the chickens as sparingly as he dared. Arthur was baking dinner- nothing more than a loaf of bread. The brothers ran around the kitchen, throwing up dust from the floor. Arthur growled angrily as Alfred pushed him and made him drop the bag of flour, which he just bought from the marketplace for an expensive price. He grinded his teeth and turned to the boys, hands forming to fists. "Alfred! Matthew! _Get back here!_"

They stopped instantly, knowing the consequences of not doing as Arthur said. They stopped smiling and looked down at the mess their playing had caused, eyes huge.

"You are going to clean that up!" Arthur hissed, throwing them some towels and a water bucket."When you're done cleaning this up, I have something else for you to do!"

In their hurry to clean the mess before Arthur got too angry with them, the boys used the drinking water instead of running to get the water from the creek to mop up the flour. Then they hurried outside, nearly tripping over each other as they raced to stand in front of Arthur, who stood in front of the carriage, the mule that was hooked up to it stamping impatiently.

Arthur glared at the two as they shuffled nervously under is sharp, emerald gaze. "Now, get into the cart. I'm going to take you somewhere."

"Where to?" Alfred asked as he hulled himself into the back.

"You'll see." Arthur replied with a huff. He waited for Matthew to climb in as well. When everyone was settled, he shook the reigns in cue for the mule to move and the cart was pulled along a path, into the woods.

"Where do you think he's taking us?" Matthew whispered to Alfred.

His brother thought a moment, and then shrugged. "I don't know. I hope it's a picnic. I doubt he'll take us out for one so late, though."

"I hope so, too…" Matthew moaned.

The blue eyes of the two brothers wandered around the trees as the cart moved deeper and deeper into the woods. They watched squirrels play in the trees and birds swooping around the sky. They silently wished they could be one of these creatures, for if that had been the case, they would be able to act any way they'd want and never be punished.

Eventually, after what felt like an hour, the cart stopped as the mule whinnied with protest. Arthur shook the reigns a bit and shouted at it, but the mule ignored the commands as it began to graze on the green grass.

"Useless beast…" Arthur hissed with annoyance, climbing out of the wagon. He helped the boys out of the back and handed them some straw baskets. When the two gave him confused looks, he sighed and explained. "You two will help me gather berries for tomorrow's breakfast. Gather berries of any kind and bring them back here, but don't come back until _both_ of those baskets are full, got it?"

The boys' eyes lit up and they nodded, mouths gaping as they lost control of their excitement.

Arthur smiled at this and shooed them off into the woods. "You must go deeper if you are to find anything!"

The brothers grinned and waved, but eagerly twisted around as they ran into the trees.

"I'm gonna find the berry-bushes first!" Alfred giggled as he nearly stumbled over his own, flying feet. Matthew accepted the challenge and the two peeked at every bush they moved past. Of course, Alfred was the first to spot one, and picked nearly every black-berry off the bush before Matthew could find one. Alfred's basket barely weighed any more than it did before, it defiantly wasn't enough for going back.

Soon the sun was below the horizon, and the last rays of light were fading away, and the first stars were visible.

Matthew looked at Alfred. "I suppose it's time to go. It's getting dark!"

Alfred looked at his half-full basket and frowned. "But Father said not to go back until they're full!"

Matthew sighed. "I'm sure he'd be worried sick if we stayed out any later. Sure, he's mean to us, but he has _some _heart!"

Alfred shook his head. "But our baskets don't have enough food! We won't be able to have breakfast until they do!"

Matthew looked around the trees. "But Alfred, monster's come out at night. Don't you remember our parents talking about the missing children out here? Monsters are taking them away!"

Alfred gasped, eyes huge as he scanned the area around them. "I-I suppose your right. It _is _gettingdark. And I'm awfully hungry. Maybe Father'll make us something special when we get back home?"

Matthew nodded and looked around confusedly. "Do you remember which way we came from?"

"Um… sure! It's that way, I think." Alfred began to lead his brother through the brush.

After a few minutes of wandering, Matthew shivered in fear. "I'm sure we would've walked past a dead oak by now!"

"Are you sure?" Alfred asked, a lump in his throat.

"I'm positive!" Matthew whimpered.

**Welp. Here it is. Meh. I hate this story, but I love it. I am **_**SO CONFUSED!**_** And please, don't mention the title of the story this is based on in the reviews, because I get intense shivers, and not the good kind. They get so bad, sometimes I want to kill myself. Why do I hate it? I don't know. So why do I love it if I hate it? I don't know. So why am I writing about it? I don't know. My mind works in ways I don't really understand…**

**Yes, I made England evil. Please review!**


	2. The Heartless One

Arthur smiled pleasantly as he drove the cart back along the path. He had finally done it! He got rid of those filthy, ravenous demons. Now he could get along with his life without hunger or frustration. It was just him and Francis…

But wait. The demons weren't gone yet. He chuckled at the thought, grinning sinisterly. They weren't gone until Arthur saw them dead. His hunger would certainly end…

Now wasn't the time to think about that. He had to speak to Francis first. By the time he rode the wagon back to the small farm, the moon was high, and Francis was no longer out tending to the animals. He got out of the wagon, deciding not to put the mule into its pin, and walked right through the front door of the house.

"You're late!" Francis called from his seat at the kitchen table.

"I just had to take care of something." Arthur spoke, surprised by the nervousness in his voice.

"Where are the kids?" Francis asked, concern clouding his voice. "They're not in bed, and I checked if they were playing in the barn, but they aren't there either!"

Arthur looked at Francis, shocked by the amount of concern in his voice. He had expected the man to be concerned about the children, but he wasn't expecting him to ask about them so soon, and with such an accusing tone!

Francis didn't wait for a reply. "Don't deny it! You left them somewhere, didn't you? I knew you were angry at them, but I never thought you would sink so low!"

Arthur felt somewhat startled by the fire in the man's icy-blue eyes. He was _furious_. Arthur shook his head in an attempt to ignore Francis's attitude. "I left them in the woods. Now they won't destroy anymore property, and we will finally be able to make money to live off of!"

"_Avoir une coeur de pierre!_" Francis hissed in his native tongue. "You must go out and find them _now!_ They're _our children!_ We cared for them their whole lives, they learned to love us, and they will one day learn to behave! There are dangerous animals out there! What could be waiting in the shadows? A bear? A wolf? A pack of coyotes? My poor Matthew can't yet swim! What if he falls into the river?"

"None of that's going to happen to them!" Arthur shouted matter-of-factly. "I'll make sure of that!" He ran back out the door, Francis spitting curses behind him. He jumped into the wagon, jiggled the reigns, and headed back into the woods. Francis chased him for a good mile into the trees, but thought better of it, and headed back home.

Things were going well according to plan. He planned on letting Francis know that the children had gone missing, and then go off into the woods so it seemed that he was going to search for them, which wasn't far from the truth. He had taken the mule so Francis can't go looking, which would be bad for Arthur, or go off to tell the town of yet another disappearance. Now all he had to do was finish up with the boys, then come back home, complaining that there was no sight of them, and he could get on with his life.

He found a great clearing to set up his base and pulled out a wand, whispering spells as he waved it around.

**~Meanwhile~**

"What do we do now?" Alfred asked, his voice shaky with fear. "There's barely any light! We won't be able to see the path, even if it were right in front of us! What's worse, is that if there was a monster here, we wouldn't be able to see it until it's too late! By the time we realize it, one, or _both_, of us would already be captured!"

"Calm down!" Matthew sighed. It was hard to believe that Alfred was the older of the two. "We just need to find shelter."

"I can't 'find' anything! I can't even see my hand in front of my face!" Alfred cried. "I want Francis!"

Matthew reached over and took his hand. "Please stay calm. Your yelling will only attract the monsters! We just need to find an over-hang in some rock, somewhere that should protect us from the cold, and out of sight of the monsters."

With a loud sniff, Alfred gripped his hand and allowed himself to be guided around the brush by his little brother. Matthew ran his hand along the steep, leafy hillside, until he felt rocks. These rocks began to grow into large stones. By now, the trees were thin and the clouds were almost entirely clear, and a slender, bright crescent glowed faintly in the jet-black sky. He saw a collection of the stones ahead in the faint light and noticed they made two walls and a ceiling, making satisfying shelter from the wind and whatever rain they might have that night.

They sat in the leaves beneath the structure, and began to clear spots for beds.

"Don't you think we should make a fire?" Alfred asked.

Matthew shook his head, which was barely visible in the dim light. "It will attract the monsters."

"But I'm cold! And I can't sleep in the dark!" Alfred whined.

Matthew sighed, rubbing away a headache. "Fine. Monsters should be afraid of the light, anyway, now that I think about it. Do you know how to make a fire?"

"Um… rubbing two sticks together?"

"Knock yourself out." Matthew replied tiredly. "Just don't stay up all night doing that, ok?"

Alfred didn't answer; he was already working on making a fire.

**There it is! I don't have much to say about this chapter… just a little foreshadowing, I suppose… God, I hate myself for writing this. Why am I doing it? I don't know.**

** Please review!**


	3. The Strange Rabbit

**bluebacon- Thanks for being the only person to review so far~ But I have a couple shy followers xD**

The sun was just coming up over the mountains, turning the sky a brilliant shade of pink.

Matthew sat up and rubbed his eyes and blinked, looking around. He saw Alfred sleeping heavily beside him, two worn-out sticks in his hands. He had fallen asleep trying to keep them warm… perhaps the noblest thing he's ever done.

There was a loud sound. A loud, terrible growling sound that sent him crawling to the back of the den.

Then he noticed the emptiness. Such _terrifying_ emptiness, worse than any monster that could possibly lurk these woods. He was hungry.

He looked around and remembered the baskets of berries. He rummaged through both of them. Just last night they were almost half-full, and now they were empty. Did the monsters come last night and spare their lives for a couple of berries? The thought chilled his spine, but the fear was replaced with anger as he looked at the colored stains around his brother's mouth.

"_Hey!" _Matthew shouted.

Alfred literally jumped to his feet, eyes huge, and hands wielding the two sticks like swords. "Is it a monster?"

"Where did the berries go?" Matthew crossed his arms.

Alfred relaxed. "Oh. I got hungry last night. I was up pretty late trying to get the fire started."

"_How_ late?" Matthew hissed irritably.

Alfred scratched his head in thought. "I don't know. I guess I didn't fall asleep until the sky was pretty light."

Matthew huffed angrily. "You need _sleep_. It is important! We need to be careful out here! We need to be _alert_! And in order t be alert, we need to _sleep_!"

Alfred's eyes grew watery. "I… I'm sorry… I was just trying to keep us warm…"

Matthew's fists loosened, and his shoulders sank. He was just trying to help… Francis had taught Matthew how to survive if he ever got lost in the woods, but that was before Alfred became part of the family. He had no knowledge of the wilderness. "I'm sorry for yelling at you. It's just the hunger. If you hadn't eaten all the berries last night, I wouldn't have been so angry."

Alfred's eyes fell, and he shifted his feet nervously. "Alright. I'll go out and find some more. I'll bring a whole bunch back."

"We need to stay together. I'll come along." Matthew whispered as he grabbed his brother's hand.

The two walked around the woods with baskets in their hands, checking each bush for berries, but there were none. Eventually Alfred's stomach began to growl as well, and he two were beginning to grow frantic.

"We're gonna _die_ out here!" Alfred exclaimed, dramatically dropping himself onto the ground, trying to settle the pain inside him.

"We just have to look harder." Matthew said, trying to keep a hopeful attitude, but that failed.

"_We already did that!_" Alfred began to moan, and a loud sound erupted from inside him. "I never thought I could get so hungry… and so fast…"

"It's just because we're kids." Matthew spoke with an assuring tone. "I'm sure the hunger isn't as bad as it feels."

Alfred groaned. "I wish it wasn't so sensitive…" Suddenly his eyes grew and he looked around. "Did you hear that?"

"A monster?" Matthew asked quietly. He stood quiet for a moment, and the sound of fluttering feathers grew audible. He scanned the area: left, right, around this corner, around that corner, on the ground, in the trees, on the rocks- there! There was a… _thing_ sitting on the rocks.

"It… looks like a green rabbit… with wings…" Alfred observed, standing beside Matthew.

Matthew sighed in relief. Good, he wasn't hallucinating. "It's… kind of cute."

The strange creature seemed to give them a smile, and it scratched one of its ears with its hind leg and twitched its little black nose. It was indeed cute.

"I'm gonna touch it!" Alfred grinned and began to walk up to it, raising his hand to touch its fur.

The thing _giggled_- yes, _giggled_- and flew up into a tree. It twitched its nose and wiggled its cotton-tail teasingly and smiled. "If you want to pet me, you have to catch me, first!"

Matthew froze. "I-it talked!"

"I know! Let's go catch it!" Alfred smiled, suddenly forgetting his hunger and running into the trees.

Matthew ran behind him, hard on his heels. "But what if it's a monster?"

Alfred just laughed. "Monsters aren't cute!"

The flying green rabbit flitted just above their heads, giggling cutely as it flew just out of reach. Eventually, it led them to a small creek, which was only crossable because of some almost-submerged steppingstones, which the boys had to carefully cross due to their poor swimming abilities.

They chased it for a long time, until the trees disappeared, and they were no longer looking up at flame-colored leaves. They now stood at the top of a hill, and in front of a large dip in the Earth. The flying green rabbit continued to sail the air ahead of them, and as their eyes followed the unusual sight, they saw something large in the of middle of the field.

Matthew squinted his eyes to see it better, and a huge grin invaded his face. "It's a house, Al! The owner could take us back home!"

Alfred lost control of his excitement and he let out an energized squeal as he dashed down the side of the steep hill. Matthew ran after him, despite the hunger that tore at his insides. Hunger didn't matter anymore, because now they were almost there… there would be another person, that person could help them go back home, and they will be able to live happily again.

They got to the house just in time to see the flying rabbit disappear into a small hole in the roof that seemed to be made specifically for it. The two walked up to the door, and they noticed something strange. The air smelled, and _tasted_, incredibly sweet.

Hypnotized by the scent, Alfred began to poke the walls while Matthew knocked at the door.

"Dude! Check this out!" Alfred waved his hand to get Matthew's attention. When the younger brother turned to see, he stuck his hand into the wall- yes, _into_ the wall- and pulled out a handful of stuff. The air grew even sweeter as he squeezed the brown mass in his hand. "I think… this is cake." He licked it a little, and his eyes lit up as his theory was proven true.

Matthew turned back to the door and chipped off a piece, which was harder than the wall and bit into it. It was sweet, as it was made of solid chocolate. He smiled, but his stomach began to hurt more as his hunger was re-awakened by the taste.

"This is amazing!" Alfred exclaimed. "Is this real? I must be dreaming!"

Matthew only smiled, as he didn't know for sure himself. This was too fantastic to be true.

Just then, the door opened, and Matthew stepped back, more out of shock than anything, as the man that stepped out closely resembled Arthur, their abandoner.

**WHOOO~ Ok, I'm in the mood for writing this now. I just had to… frickin'… get into it. But now I am. MY WARNING FROM THE FIRST CHAPTER STILL HOLDS TRUE, THOUGH! Don't frickin' mention**_** IT**_** in the reviews.**

**But please review. I love reviews and I read all of them.**


	4. A Bad Dream?

**WARNING! This chapter gets pretty graphic toward the end, so if you'd like, stop reading at "He watched in horror as…" and start again at "How was Matthew still…" it would be smart if you have a weak stomach.**

** Amethystdragon2: Me too ;w;**

** Zhu2001: It gets even more interesting…**

** Bluebacon: Yes, It's frickin' creepy.**

Matthew didn't really know what to think of it. It wasn't exactly Arthur, he still looked quite different. His clothes, for example, were of the kind Arthur wouldn't have been caught dead in. His hair looked blond, but in the light, it turned a pinkish hue, and he had freckles. But there was defiantly something very strange- his eyes were had the vibrant colors of candy, blue and pink.

The man looked down at the two with a concerned look on his face. "Are you two lost?"

The children nodded and looked past the man and through the door, where even the interior of the house seemed to be made of candy. As Matthew looked at it all, his stomach let out another whine.

The stranger cleared his throat nervously and gave them a friendly smile. "Would you like to come in?" He stepped aside and gestured for the two to come through the door.

Matthew was hesitant to move forward, in fact, he didn't want to move at all. Francis had taught him about strangers, and that one should be cautious when around them, and to never go into their house, but he found himself putting one foot in front of the other as the hunger burned within him. Alfred followed close behind, the saliva in his mouth growing uncontrollable as he smelled the sweet air.

This place was… very hypnotizing…

They found themselves already sitting down at the table. As the stranger went into the kitchen to cook something, they decided to have a talk with each other.

After about twenty minutes, the stranger came over from the kitchen and set plates down in front of the children, and smiled satisfyingly as their eyes lit up at the sight. "I made cupcakes for you!"

Matthew and Alfred gawked stupidly at the plates piled with the cakes. They have never seen such a sight. The frosting had so many colors, and all the cakes were chocolate. _So _much chocolate.

"I-is that for us?" Matthew asked in disbelief.

The stranger smiled. "Of course! I wouldn't torment two hungry children like that!"

"Yes!" Alfred fist-pumped as his excitement grew over-whelming and he took a bite out of one of the small cakes.

As the two ate the first breakfast they could remember, Matthew couldn't help but feel uncomfortable. The stranger was sitting at the other side of the round table, watching them, his cheek resting on his palm and just smiling. Matthew just ignored it though. The feeling came up simply because he was a stranger. But he was a good one, definitely. But still…

Matthew sat up and cleared his throat. "So what's your name?"

The stranger sat up as well. "You can call me Oliver. What would your names be?"

Alfred paused and smiled. "I'm Alfred, and this is my little brother, Matthew."

"Nice to meet you two." Oliver nodded. "How did you wind up all the way out here?"

Matthew hesitated for a moment. "Um… our father took us out here to pick some berries, but we got lost. We stayed the night under a rock and then… um…"

"We followed a flying green rabbit here!" Alfred blurted.

_Way to make us look crazy, Al…_ Matthew growled under his breath, but grinned again. "It didn't exactly go like that! It was really a-"

Suddenly the green rabbit flew down from its unseen perch and landed on top of Oliver's head. Oliver patted the small creature. "Minty! Thank you for bringing these two here! I'm sure they would have been doomed if they would have been out there for much longer! Er… you were saying?"

Matthew's jaw dropped. "Nevermind…"

"You have a pet rabbit with wings?" Alfred tilted his head, taking another bit of cupcake.

Oliver smiled. "Yes. It's hard to explain really how I found him… In fact, I hardly remember."

_How do you forget about finding a flying rabbit?_ Matthew furrowed a brow. That fact was very suspicious, even Alfred couldn't let that one slide. Glancing at his brother, Matthew found himself being wrong about him, again, as he nibbled carelessly at the cakes.

"These are amazing!" Alfred exclaimed.

Matthew nodded, flashing a glance at Oliver. "They really are. You should have some, too."

Oliver's smile faltered, but only for a heartbeat. "But I don't have a plate for myself."

Matthew sighed. "But I have a lot. I'll give you some." He gave Oliver a cupcake and he smiled.

"Thank you. You're so kind…" Oliver took a bite of the cupcake, and Matthew watched him chew it.

Matthew felt more re-assured. They weren't poisoned after all.

Alfred stood up and stretched. "Thank you Oliver! Could you _please_ do us one more favor?"

Oliver grinned. "Sure~ What do you need?"

"Could you take us home?" Alfred asked shyly. "We've been lost for nearly a day now. Father is probably looking for us."

Oliver nervously rubbed the back of his head. "You mean take you home now? But it's getting dark!"

The brothers looked out the window, and indeed it was already sunset. Matthew tilted his head. How had the day gone by so quickly?

"Monsters come out at night." Oliver shrugged his shoulders. "I don't want to give you two nightmares, but I'm sure you two would make nothing more than a fine snack for one. It would be better to go in the morning, but I can't guaranty you I'll be able to take you home."

"Why not?" Alfred asked.

"See… I don't know where you came from, how far we'll have to walk, or what direction to go. If you don't know where you live, how would I?" Oliver frowned.

"He makes a good point." Matthew hissed to his brother sadly. "If we go looking for our home, we may end up getting even more lost, and we'll have to take care of three of us instead of only the two!"

"I'm sorry for the news…" Oliver sighed. "But it's getting late; sleep ought to calm your nerves. You'll be living with me from now on. Now off to bed."

He took the two to another room with two small but comfortable looking beds. Alfred crawled into the one closest to the window, and Matthew into the one closest to the door.

"Good night you two. Sweet dreams!" Oliver smiled, blowing a kiss, and closed the door.

It wasn't long before the boys fell asleep, warm in their soft beds of cotton candy.

But Matthew heard a sound coming from the other side of the door. He crawled his way to the door and pressed his ear against it. There was the sound of… struggling? Curious, Matthew slowly pulled open the door and peeked through the crack and instantly regretted so.

He saw a familiar looking boy being dragged into the room from behind another door by Oliver. It was the Italian boy from the town Matthew and Alfred used to live near, Feliciano. He was hard to look at… for more than one reason. As he was dragged, his mouth was wide open in an ear-piercing scream- but no sound came out. It was a strange sight. Oliver slapped the side of his face as the boy struggled, leaving a purple, hand-shaped mark. As he was forced to lay on his back on a table and was tied down, Matthew noticed that his stomach was grossly swollen.

What was going on? Why was this happening? …Was this real?

He watched in horror as Oliver pulled out a knife and slit the struggling boy's throat. He stuck the knife into the boy's torso and began to tear it apart.

Matthew was horrified and wanted nothing more than to look away… but he couldn't. He felt some sort of sick awe. It was… hard to explain. But even so, a tear ran down his cheek as he watched Oliver butcher the poor boy. He watched him pull out the intestines and stick them into a box. He watched him take out the kidneys and put them into a pot. Oliver then took out the stomach and put it into another pot. He took out the liver and chopped it up, putting the pieces into the pot with the kidneys. He took out the lungs, chopped them up, and put them into their own pot. Then he pulled up a plate, setting the heart on it.

Oliver started a fire in the hearth and put the pots inside to cook the organs. He sat and watched the fire as he ate the heart raw.

How was Matthew still able to watch this? He did not know this answer himself. He was crying at the sight. It was terrifying… But it couldn't be real… right? This place was too perfect and good to have such a thing really happen. It was so… _so_ terrifying… He couldn't help but let out a little whimper.

Oliver turned his head at this, and he peered through the crack in the door, blue and pink eyes glowing, and looked at Matthew. He just looked at him, emotionless, as he quit chewing the heart. Matthew just stared back, frozen in fear. _He definitely sees me…_

Oliver was frozen as well. He stared into Matthew's eyes for what seemed forever, silently. He was the first one to speak. It was one word, but it chilled Matthew to the bone. "Silence."

The words echoed inside Matthew's head for what seemed like hours. The word was barely audible, but it was all he could hear, over the sounds of crickets and the crackling of fire. Slowly he closed the door and crawled back into bed. _What a strange dream… This couldn't be true, right? This is just a nightmare caused by all the chocolate. When I wake up tomorrow, none of this would have happened. We'll be happy again in this new house, able to eat all we wanted without the feeling of hunger ever again. I'll wake up, and Alfred will be right there, waiting for me… or at least we'll be back under the rock… or back home with our parents. What just happened was just a bad dream, right?_

…_Right?_

**I'M SO SORRY! I thought I posted this chapter a week ago! Woops! I had to look up some anatomy for this and… well, I was looking at real human organs at 12 o'clock on a school night, and saw some things I never wanted to see, so… yeah. **

**And the part with Feliciano, don't be angry. It is a crucial point in the story, and - *SPOILERS!* ****That won't be the last you'll be seeing him~**


	5. The Silent One

** bluebacon- KILL IT! KILL IT NAO!**

** XxkikisapphireluvxX- Here ya go c:**

** zhu2001- :c**

** Sakura Ichigo Morihiko- No. It's Princess and the Frog… (But really, yes it is THAT. Ps: am I the only person who feels like they got punched in the face whenever THAT TITLE is simply in their field of view…? I don't even have to read it, but if it's there, I get punched in the face…)**

Matthew sat up, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. Blinking, he looked around, examining the room he was in. He was still in the candy house. He turned his head and saw that Alfred was still asleep, smiling as he dreamed happily through the early hours of the morning. He crawled out of bed and stretched, still feeling tired. He had been taught to get up when his eyes first opened in the morning so he could help father work with the animals. Even though this lesson was no longer needed, he was so used to doing it, it was almost automatic.

He walked through the bedroom door just in time to see Oliver coming in through another door he hadn't seen before.

"Good morning, Matthew!" Oliver grinned.

"Morning!" Matthew smiled and waved. He walked across the room to curiously open the door Oliver had just emerged from, but Oliver quickly stopped him.

"You mustn't go in there." He warned. "That is my own room with my own things. I don't want you snooping around in there."

Matthew was surprised by the sudden tone in Oliver's voice. What made him sound like that? _Perhaps he's one of those people who are cranky in the mornings._

Oliver smiled again. There was a strong air of awkwardness radiating from him. "Um… I suppose I'll be making breakfast now…" He went into the kitchen and began to cook.

Matthew peeked into the fireplace. There was not a roaring fire inside of it, but a few glowing ambers. It would have gotten very cold last night had the fire not been blazing to keep the house warm. He could smell… something in the fireplace, but the sweet scent of the house took over the strange scent, and he could not identify it.

He looked over at Oliver to see what he was doing. He was just messing around in the kitchen. Occasionally he would pause and think, as if he was lost in his mind for a moment, snap his fingers as he remembered what he was doing, and he'd search some more. He was acting a bit jumpy, like he did something bad. But what did he do? What _could_ he have _possibly_ done? Matthew shook his head and sat down at the table as Oliver came in with some cupcakes. The smell was spectacular.

Alfred came out of the bedroom, awakened by the smell. "Good morning!"

"Good morning Alfred!" Oliver smiled, the strange stiffness in his behavior loosening a bit. "How did you sleep?"

"I slept great!" Alfred grabbed a cupcake and bit into it. "I didn't get a whole lot of sleep the night before, so I slept really good!"

"You mean you slept 'well?'" Oliver grinned, raising a brow as he corrected the child's grammar.

"Yeah, that…" After Alfred's reply, the table fell silent for a few minutes. Alfred enjoyed the cupcakes, and Oliver even had one for himself.

For some reason Matthew was hesitant, thinking about the strange dream last night. He couldn't really remember what had happened in it. All he could remember was that he was afraid.

Alfred noticed his brother blankly staring at a cupcake and frowned. "They taste great. You should try one."

Matthew snapped out of his thoughts to give Alfred a smile and picked up the cupcake to nibble on it.

Oliver gave him a light smile. Whatever strange behavior he previously had was gone now. Looking back at Alfred, he tilted his head. "Did you dream last night?"

Alfred paused and thought a moment, the little cowlick on his head bobbing up and down. "Um… I think there were unicorns… yeah! Black unicorns and volcanoes! Oh, and laughing kids!" He giggled. "It was very strange!"

Oliver laughed and sipped his tea. "That is a quite strange combination!"

"I know! Did you dream last night?" Alfred asked Oliver.

Oliver stopped sipping and blinked. "Well… of course! I dreamt about you two, and how lucky you are to have come here!"

Matthew nodded. Indeed, they were lucky! If they hadn't found the house, they would have died either by starvation or by the monsters that lurked in the woods.

The Alfred turned to Matthew. "What about you, Mattie?"

Matthew jumped, taken by surprise. He honest didn't think the question was going to be asked to him. He noticed Oliver giving him a look, that smile of his seeming to become sad. _But why_? He thought hard about the dream, but nothing about it came up. "I don't remember it."

Alfred tipped his head. "What's that?"

"I said 'I don't remember it.'"

"Speak up!" Alfred bumped his brother in the shoulder. "I can't hear you!"

Matthew blinked and thought for a moment. He had spoken up pretty well. Why wasn't he heard? One glance back at Oliver's nervous face, and he remembered the dream.

_Silence…_ The quiet word echoed inside of his head, and images of blood and knives broke into his mind. That was no dream. He shuddered as the memory of Oliver eating the heart of poor Feliciano raw took over his senses. He stood up abruptly and gave Oliver a hard stare. There were many things he wanted to shout at him, but he would hear none of them. Instead, he grabbed Alfred's arm and attempted to drag him out the door, but the older brother wouldn't move.

"What's wrong?" There was a worried look on Alfred's face as he asked the question with genuine confusion. "Why are you acting so strange?"

Matthew gave him a growl and tried to push him out of his seat, but Alfred sat stubbornly.

"Are you trying to take me outside?" Alfred asked. "But there are monsters out there!"

_There are monsters in here, too_! Matthew wished to scream the words, but they would be so useless.

Alfred turned and looked at Oliver. "W-why isn't he talking to me?"

Oliver sighed and stood up. "Matthew, please calm down. Stop pushing your brother. Come with me, I need to talk to you."

Matthew huffed angrily and pulled away from Oliver as he tried to grab his arm. Baring his teeth, Oliver lunged forward again and managed to take Matthew by the hand. He dragged the boy into the room he had earlier told him not to enter. Alfred sat from his chair and watched all this with wide eyes.

Oliver closed the door behind him and slapped the screaming Matthew in the face. "Silence! I'll go deaf with you going on like that!"

"Good!" Matthew rubbed the red hand-print on his cheek. "You can hear me?"

"I put a spell on you so you can't tell your brother what you witnessed last night. I'm the only one who can hear you." Oliver replied.

"Why are you doing that? I don't understand!" A tear began rolling down his cheeks, but he rubbed it off, giving out a degusted _hiss_ as Oliver watched it, licking his lips.

"I have my reasons." Oliver said. "You can say that… I'm not human. That I'm just a shell, and I need to devour the lives of others in order to exist."

"But why us? Why kids?" Matthew growled.

"Simple." Oliver smiled. "Because children are young, and they are full of energy and life. I need to sacrifice you two in order for me to continue living."

Matthew glared up at Oliver. "Y-you…!" He lunged forward, catching Oliver off guard, pushing him down onto the floor. But Oliver quickly recovered from the shock and knocked Matthew down with him. Oliver climbed on top of the boy and held him down, squeezing his jaw to stop him from letting out another annoying ear-splitting screech.

"Listen to me, you bloody child!" Oliver bared his teeth, staring into the boy's eyes. "If I see you make any moves against me, I won't hesitate to eat you, got it?"

Matthew looked up at him, horrified. "Y-yes, sir!" He stuttered when Oliver loosened his grip on his jaw.

Slowly, Oliver climbed off of Matthew, letting the boy catch his breath. Matthew rubbed his sore jaw, glaring at Oliver. After a few moments, he turned and went out the door. He looked at his brother, who had barely touched another cupcake, feeling guilty. Matthew sighed, and walked out the door of the candy house.

OoOoOoOoOoO

A few hours later, Alfred stepped outside to find his brother sitting against the wall, his face buried in his arms, wet with tears. He sat down and rubbed his shoulders, trying to comfort his crying brother. But instead of being greeted, Alfred was pushed away, and Matthew started heading away into the woods.

"H-hey! What are you doing?" Alfred cried. When Matthew didn't pause, he ran forward and grabbed his hand. "Stop it! The monsters will kill you! What don't you understand about that?" Matthew gripped his hand back, and tugged him forward, looking deeply into his eyes. Naturally feeling creeped out, Alfred stepped away. "I'm not going into the woods."

Something snapped inside of Matthew's mind. He lunged forward and wrestled Alfred to the ground, pinning him down and giving his face a few slaps. Alfred looked up at his younger brother, horrified. "What are you doing? That hurts! Just talk to me, and we'll work it out! Don't hurt me, please!" But the slapping and punching continued. Alfred gave out a loud cry, and Oliver came barging out the door of the house.

"Matthew! Stop it this instant!" Oliver commanded, but Matthew just gave him an angry look, and lunged up at him instead, leaving Alfred with a bloody nose. Oliver quickly wrestled Matthew down and held his hands together behind his back. "Alfred, get back inside!"

Alfred stumbled to his feet, glancing at the terrified look on Matthew's face before running back inside.

Matthew struggled pathetically beneath Oliver's grasp. "No! I don't want to be eaten! Give me one last chance! Please! I just snapped! I didn't mean it!"

Oliver hissed. "You will be punished for hurting me and your own brother. Come! Don't fight me, or you will have even more problems!"

Trembling, Matthew did as he was told, his hands pinned tightly together behind his back by Oliver's crushing fingers. Oliver forced him up to the house, but he didn't take him inside. Instead, there was a cage built into the side of the building. Oliver pushed Matthew inside of the cage, and despite his struggles, he was unable to make it out of the cage before it was locked. He peeked through the bars into Oliver's glowing pink-and-blue eyes. His heart beat rapidly. _Why was he there?_

Oliver just gave him a satisfied smirk and left.

**WELL. That took long enough. xD It's also a bit longer than the other chapters, nearly 2,000 words! (if only I could type like that for my research paper, which only has to be 1,000 words)**

**SO. A few things are explained here, I had a hard time trying to keep this under 2,000 words long, but I managed somehow. You didn't expect poor Mattie to be the one in the cage, did you? Well, me neither, honestly. Are you curious about what Francis is doing right now? I'll try to cram some of him into the next chapter…**


	6. The Caged One

**bluebacon- PFFFFFFT! xD**

Francis sat down and rubbed the sweat from his forehead. He didn't remember the time it was he last saw Matthew and Alfred, but he wasn't going to quit looking for them, never. He… just needed… a rest…

He heard the trickling of water, and walked toward the source. He found a small stream. The clear surface was like crystal, and he saw little minnows swimming around, meaning the water was fresh. He cupped the water and splashed it up on his face, savoring the wetness on his lips.

He had forgotten about his hunger and thirst in his frantic searching for the boys, and had hardly eaten anything since the day they were lost. He opened up the bag he carried and pulled out a small loaf of bread and broke off a piece. The bread was dry, but at least he had water to wash it down with.

The sun hid behind a cloud once more, and he felt cool again. If the sun's heat wasn't beating him down, then the cloud's shadow left his skin chilling. It was getting awfully annoying. As he chewed his bread, he felt eyes on him. He looked around, blue eyes carefully scanning the trees. In the shadows, he saw something move. Squinting his eyes, he stood up to take a better look.

He saw the silhouette of a boy looking back at him. Francis instinctually stepped forward, but suddenly the boy turned around and ran quickly, deep into the trees.

_Could that possibly be… Matthew? Or Alfred?_ Quickly, he packed his bread, lifted the bag and chased the boy into the woods. The boy was very fast- he could hardly get within 15 meters of him! His legs began getting tired as his running time broke into the fifth minute. Now he resorted to trying to call the boys' names. "Matthew? Alfred? Is that you?"

But the running boy did not stop or waver in his running. He ran strong, as if he was not even feeling the slightest bit tired. Francis stopped, feeling dizzy from his running, and the sun came out again. He caught a glimpse of the running boy, who was indeed neither of his boys. He wore dark clothing, and he could see a bobbing hair curl that did not resemble Matthew's.

Francis sighed and sat on a rock, trying to ease the burning sensation in his legs. "I'll find you two… I will not stop until I do…"

OoOoOoOoOoO

"Ow! Ow! It hurts!" Alfred cried.

Oliver stopped pressing on Alfred's bloodied nose and began dabbing the cloth under it to mop up the blood. "Calm down, son. Your writhing like that will make this harder."

Alfred held his breath, trying his best to tough out the pain, but it was hard. But that was not what made him still. Oliver had just called him 'son'. Not even his own father called him that. It felt… good. "I really wish my father would have called me that… He was mean to us, though. I don't think he ever really loved me…"

Oliver paused, looking at the bloodied cloth to avoid eye contact. He was silent for a few minutes. "I… I think he did love you. He loved you very much…"

"Well… Maybe he did…" Alfred shook his head. "If he did, though, he wouldn't have left us out here!" Oliver's shoulders sank. And were those… tears in his eyes? Alfred patted his shoulder. "No, don't cry! I didn't mean to make you sad! I really like it here! I just… wish my father was able to show a little more love…"

Oliver hugged him tightly. "I'm glad you like it here. I'll try to make you as happy as I can!"

Alfred hugged him back. "D-do you mind if I call you… father?"

He felt Oliver's spine shiver and stiffen. "Uh… sure… I'd like that." He picked up another cloth and dried his eyes. "I'm sorry for crying like that. It's just that… n-never mind. Here, hold still…"

Alfred closed his eyes and let Oliver press on his nose again, stopping the blood from flowing out. He felt relief from the pain in his nose now. "Thank you, f…father."

Oliver shivered again at the word 'father.' "You're welcome… It'll bruise, but the bleeding is at least over."

Alfred smiled. "Where's my brother at?"

Oliver hesitated. "He's… taking a time out right now. Do you want to see him?"

Alfred nodded.

"W-well then, follow me." Oliver led Alfred out the door and took him left, to the side of the house. At first, Alfred didn't see anything until Alfred pointed at the wall, and saw the cage built into the side of it. "He beat you up, and he tried beating me up. I feel like this is the correct punishment for drawing blood."

Originally, Alfred was angry at Oliver for putting Matthew into a cage, but at the mention of his unreasonable behavior, it made a bit of sense. They had never hurt anyone before, at least not to the point of making someone bleed, so they never got punished for that sort of thing before. "So… when will his punishment end?"

Oliver was already walking away, and he must have not heard the question, as he didn't stop to reply.

He kneeled down and peeked into the cage, seeing his brother curled in the back corner of it. "What was that all about?"

Silence.

Alfred frowned. "Why aren't you talking to me? I miss your voice!"

More silence.

"Why are you acting so strange? Why did you hurt Father?"

Matthew lifted his face from his arms and glared at Matthew, blue eyes blazing. Quickly, he crawled over to him, wrapped a fist around one of the bars, and throwing another hand out of them to grip Alfred's shirt. He pulled Alfred close, staring into his eyes. It seemed he wanted to say something, but for some reason he wasn't. The angry look on Matthew's face faded away, and he slowly let go of Alfred's collar, shaking his head. Instead, he gripped the bars and vigorously began to shake them.

Alfred watched him grow angrier with each tug. "You shouldn't have hurt me. I'm not going to let you out. I can't. I don't have the keys."

This just made Matthew tug on the bars harder, even resorting to hitting his head on them.

Alfred began crying, not knowing what to do. "Don't do that! You'll hurt yourself! I-I'll go get some food! That ought to calm you down!"

Matthew stopped hitting his head and shaking the bars to watch Alfred run off into the house. "Stupid!" He called after Alfred in vain. He rubbed his head. There was nothing he could do about his position… except… He looked at the bars closer. Was that… chocolate? He tried to chip some of it away, but nothing broke off. He tried punching through the bars, but that only made his fist hurt. Then he did the last thing he could think of. He leaned his face in and lapped at the chocolate. It was sickeningly sweet, but he smiled when the chocolate melted away in his saliva. He continued licking and gnawing at the bar until there was a hole in it, and he grinned. He had found his escape.

No he didn't. Matthew grew angry as he watched the hole close up just as quickly as it appeared. He gave out a cry and tried kicking through the bars, but they still didn't budge. Angry with himself, he curled up again, burying his face in his arms.

Alfred came back with a cupcake and held it out to Matthew. "Is this what you want? It should calm you down."

Matthew bared his teeth and glared at the object with a disgusted look. Perhaps if he did this, Alfred would notice something wrong? But Alfred just sat there with a confused look on his face. Matthew thought for a moment, then took the cupcake. He then stood up, woun his arm, and threw the cupcake into the bushes.

Alfred watched, mouth gaping, as he threw the precious treat aside. "W-why did you do that?" When Matthew didn't answer, he began to tear up and went back down on his knees. "Matthew! Please talk to me! I don't know what I did wrong! Don't you like me anymore? Brother, speak to me!"

Matthew felt tears well up in his own eyes at his brother's desperate attempts to make him speak, but he couldn't, not even if he tried. He remembered that there was a language for deaf people, so a deaf person could understand what someone was saying, but he couldn't remember what it was, what it was called, or how it worked. If he didn't know it, Alfred wouldn't, either. He thought a moment, and lightly pushed Alfred away, looking into his eyes, and trying to smile. _Just _please_ go into the woods! It's safer!_

Alfred looked towards the woods and back. "I'm not going out there! Do you _want_ me to be eaten by monsters?"

Matthew hit his head against the bars, resting his head on them and giving out an irritated sigh. _That's what I'm trying to _prevent!

"Um… If you want me to go… I'll just go into the house…" Alfred waved lightly and walked away, despite Matthew's inaudible cries of protest.

Now Matthew sat alone in the cage again. _He referred to that monster as 'Father'… That monster is not our father! We don't deserve a disgusting beast like him! We deserve to live in a real house, with our real parents!_ He pounded his fists on the ground, clenching his teeth as hard as he can, trying to contain his anger. Any more episodes would end up killing him…

**Welp, here's another chapter. It got a bit fluffier and angsty'er than I originally intended O-O**

**I've had a bit more time lately to write (I have, like, fifteen imagination-sharing accounts all over the internet, for making stories, making art, making comics, making movies, making cartoons, making games…) I've only recently given myself the time to write this story. It just takes me a few days to motivate myself into writing this story, not because I hate it (because I don't), but just because it's such a disturbing subject I have… mixed feelings… about… *curls up in the corner of my cave***

**Review please!**


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